This invention relates to devices intended for use in aerobic septic treatment systems and, more particularly, to devices intended to control or monitor the performance of these systems.
Aerobic septic systems are a relatively new approach to home or commercial sewage treatment. Many, if not the large majority, of such systems have been installed in the last 10 years and they still number less than conventional gravity systems. The controllers used in aerobic septic systems are adequate for basic operation but are technologically primitive and inadequate for preventative maintenance or for addressing system failures. Since their introduction, aerobic septic systems have relied on electro-mechanical controls. The benefit of such controls is that they operate anywhere AC power is available. The downside is that they are not very functional and can leave the whole aerobic septic system in an un-operable state with no indication to the user.
Existing electro-mechanical controls on aerobic septic systems are very simple. A basic mechanical timer is used to actuate the sprinkler system. Fault monitoring is performed by two internal switches, both housed in the aerobic septic system control enclosure. One switch closes when the air pump fails. The other is a pressure switch that closes when air pressure from the pump becomes too low. Closing either switch will illuminate a light and/or activate a buzzer on the outside of the enclosure. The light or buzzer is only intended to tell the user something is wrong.
This is the full functional extent of prior systems: primitive mechanical timer circuits, unreliable and crude indicators (e.g., lights, buzzers) of unspecific failures, and no method of addressing preventative maintenance. If something fails, the existing system is not specific about what went wrong. The user must hire a contractor to both diagnose and repair the system, leading to larger repair bills. The failure indicators (light bulb and buzzer) are subject to potentially harsh environmental conditions (e.g., weather, dust, mechanical strikes) and may easily break or burn out. The buzzer may also be silenced by a bypass switch with no indication that it has been disabled. In either case, the user never realizes anything is wrong, either with the system or its indicators, leading to long term outages and much more costly repairs.
The existing systems do not at all address numerous maintenance requirements, such as the addition of bleach, cleaning of air pump filters, flushing air lines, or regular pumping/cleanout of tanks. Users must keep track of all such maintenance themselves, which often leads to neglect. Existing systems also require the user to reset a mechanical clock after power failures to ensure sprinklers do not activate at unwanted times.
Prior systems, as described above, are very simple “dumb” electrical circuits that operate on an electro-mechanical timer and basic switches. These offer minimum feedback or interfacing to the user and are prone to undetectable or inconspicuous failures. A need exists for an improved monitoring/control device for aerobic septic systems that offers new functionality compared to existing electro-mechanical control systems.